Philanthropy Sharing Session Eps. 6 from the Philanthropy Cluster on Environmental and Conservation: Plastic Waste Management Webinar During Eid Al-Fitr
Jakarta, 8 July 2021 | The Philanthropy Cluster on Environmental and Conservation held an online webinar in the Philanthropy Sharing Session Eps. 6: Webinars on Plastic Waste Management During Eid. This activity is part of the #KurbanAsikTanpaPlastik campaign, which is a campaign to celebrate sacrifices without using plastic containers during celebration of Eid al-Adha 1442 H. This webinar was held through the Zoom Meeting application and broadcast via the Dompet Dhuafa TV (DDTV) youtube channel.
The speakers at this webinar discussion are Ujang Solihin Sidik, Head of the Sub-Directorate of Goods and Packaging of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK); Bambang Suherman, Director of Communication and Strategic Alliance of Dompet Dhuafa; Aryanie Amellina, Environment and Climate Action Specialist UNICEF Indonesia; Dwi Sasetyaningtyas, CEO of Sustaination; and Diny Hartiningtias, Communication & Fundraising Coordinator of the Belantara Foundation as moderators.
#KurbanAsikTanpaPlastic Campaign
To preserve nature and the environment, Dompet Dhuafa has replaced plastic bags into besek (bamboo woven containers) for distributing sacrificial meat during celebration of Eid al-Adha. This movement has started for a couple years until now, said Bambang Suherman, Director of Communication and Strategic Alliance of Dompet Dhuafa.
According to data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia produces 5.4 million tons of waste per day, and plastic waste is the second highest type of waste from the total waste produced.
The use of besek is one of the ways to prevent an increasing number of plastic waste during Eid al-Adha celebrations. In addition, replacing plastic bags with besek also means helping micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) because most of the besek producers are MSMEs.
The data is in line with the statement from Tyas, CEO of Sustaination who said that Eid is a moment to share good fortune. Sharing fortune is not only in the form of sharing sacrifices but can also support the economy in general. For example, it can support besek craftsmen. Even though the price of besek is currently still more expensive than plastic, using besek can have a more sustainable environmental long term effect as well as can support the craftsmen of besek.
The negative impact of the accumulation of plastic waste
The negative impact of garbage accumulation was also explained by Aryanie Environment and Climate Action Specialist UNICEF Indonesia. According to her, accumulation of plastic waste is not only causing problems to the environment, but also dangerous for human health, especially children. UNICEF Indonesia itself is currently running a campaign program to reduce the use of single-use plastic packaging in everyday life.
The number of negative impacts resulting from the accumulation of waste is a problem that must be overcome together. Ujang Solihin Sidik, Head of Sub-directorate of Goods and Packaging KLHK, Bambang Suherman said that efforts to reduce waste accumulation can be done by increasing awareness and changing people's habits, especially in managing sacrificial animals from slaughtering to distribution to the community.
Rizal Algamar, Chairman of the Indonesian Philanthropy Board, said that Eid is the right momentum to educate the public about the importance of reducing single-use plastic containers. In addition, Rizal also hopes that the information we gathered from Philanthropy Sharing Session Eps 6: #KurbanAsikTanpaPlastik can be useful for all of us.
Series of Events for the #KurbanAsikTanpaPlastic Movement
The #KurbanAsikTanpaPlastik movement began with the launch of an educational video about plastic waste produced by the Indonesian people every year, followed by a press conference on July 10, which was attended by Hamid Abidin, Executive Director of Philanthropy Indonesia, Sri Mariati, Executive Director of the Belantara Foundation and Arif Rahmadi Haryono, GM Advocacy. & Wallet Dhuafa Strategic Alliance and media friends.
On the same day, the event continued with the Philanthropy Environmental Cluster Webinar entitled "Control of Plastic Waste During Eid Al-Fitr" along with the opening of the video competition to the public. Other events are 2 Instagram Lives entitled 'Environmental Chat Ala Philanthropy' which was held on July 17th and 'Berkurban Asyik' on July 19th. The campaign movement closed with the announcement of the winners of the video contest on August 11.
